Gilmar criticizes “disorganized parliamentarism” and warns of climbing amendments

Lisbon – Minister Gilmar Mendes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) drew attention to the institutional imbalance which, according to him, settled in Brazil with the advancement of Congress power and the disordered growth of parliamentary amendments. “We perhaps live a disorganized parliamentarism, because it does not have a well-defined format,” he said to journalists on Thursday (3) during the Lisbon Forum.

The minister recalled that the current model of the imposing amendments came in 2015, in the clash between then-President Dilma Rousseff and former deputy and mayor Eduardo Cunha, and has gained unpublished proportions. “Last year, there was a number of $ 50 billion for parliamentary amendments. Congress must have power, it is natural, but also has responsibility,” said Gilmar.

In the assessment of the court dean, Brazil has ceased to operate under the “coalition presidentialism” and today there is a “collision presidentialism”, marked by frequent impasses between executive and legislative. He suggested that the country discuss alternatives, such as semi-presence, to adapt the system of government to the growing protagonism of Congress.

Gilmar also commented on the Supreme’s role in the current crisis around the IOF and reaffirmed that the court acts responsibly when provoked by different political actors. “When parliamentarians were persecuted by lawsuits or criminal investigations, it was the supreme who gave a word of sufficient. When there are exaggerations on one side or the other, it is the Supreme who has the glazing,” he said.

The minister minimized the possibility that the decision on the IOF feeds tensions with the legislature. “I don’t fear. We had a good dialogue with the leading sectors of the National Congress. They know that we do our work with conscience.”